TALES OF TRAGEDY

Tracy Swartz RedEyeCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Nearly half the victims of homicide last year were between the ages of 20 and 30 when they died, a RedEye analysis of preliminary police data found.

In 2009, Chicago recorded 460 homicides, about 10 percent fewer deaths compared to 2008. Despite this decrease, homicide and murder were top of mind, in the wake of a few high-profile deaths that grabbed local and national attention.

In September, the world turned to Roseland, where 16-year-old Fenger High School student Derrion Albert was beaten to death, an act that was caught on video. In May, residents pleaded for help combating gang violence when Chicago Discovery Academy student Alex Arellano, 15, was shot, beaten and burned on the Southwest Side because he reportedly did not want to join a gang.

Homicides occurred in more than 80 percent of Chicago's 77 community areas last year. Although these deaths claimed young and old, white and black, the typical homicide victim -- drawn from a composite of data -- was a black male between the ages of 20 and 25 who was shot to death on the South or West Side, RedEye found.

For nearly a year, RedEye has been tracking homicides in Chicago and publishing the results every week in the paper and online. We looked for patterns to the homicides by evaluating each victim's age, race, gender and the cause and location of the death.

Among the results:

- 402 men were homicide victims -- about seven times the number of female victims in 2009.

- Fifty-eight women were homicide victims last year, about the same number as in 2008.

- There was one triple homicide last year. Three male Chicago Public Schools students were shot to death on a corner in South Chicago in February.

- Although fatal shootings were down about 9 percent compared to 2008, guns still were the most used murder weapon in 2009.

- Austin, the city's largest community area, saw 41 homicides, the most of any community area and about 9 percent of the city's total homicides.

- Albany Park saw three double homicides, the most of any community area. The area recorded eight homicides in 2009.

Using data from the police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, RedEye examined those cases officials ruled homicides in Chicago last year.

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tswartz@tribune.com

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Reckless homicide

In the last year, RedEye tracked car crashes in which the driver who caused the crash initially was charged with reckless homicide.

There were 13 victims of these crashes from March through December, RedEye found, based on statements from the police department. These deaths were separate from the 460 deaths classified as homicides. Most of these car crashes occurred on the South Side.